Spot bitcoin ETFs officially began trading on Thursday after receiving approval on Wednesday. Industry observers and participants were quick to weigh in.
ETFs have already seen record volumes over $4 billion by the end of the day and despite some believing the approvals could trigger a news sell-off event, bitcoin price remains around $46,000 after hitting a high of $49,000 on early Thursday.
โThe ETF will most likely generate more demand, which will therefore lead market makers to allocate more capital to support that liquidity. Cryptocurrency market liquidity has not yet fully recovered from the FTX crash in November 2022,โ Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, told Blockworks in an email.
Read more: Spot bitcoin ETFs surpass $1 billion in trading volumes after first 30 minutes
โSo, this could benefit the entire crypto ecosystem, especially as it starts to attract the attention of this new group of investors.โ
Responding to the approvals, Blockchain Association President Kristin Smith noted in a post on X that โthe law is on our side.โ
โYesterday it took a legal challenge to get ETF approval. It shouldn't be like that, but it is.โ
The legal challenges to establishing bitcoin spot ETFs They have a long history in the cryptocurrency space. Following the US Securities and Exchange Commission's decision, the issue has attracted substantial attention from both industry experts and casual observers.
Read more: The decade-long path to (possible) timely approval of the bitcoin ETF
โWhile an approval can happen at a moment's notice, preparation literally requires years and years of work on both sides,โ Brett Tejpaul, Coinbase's institutional director, told Blockworks.
The Winklevoss twins, who were the first to file for a bitcoin ETF in 2013, made their voices heard following SEC approval.
Cameron Winklevoss echoed Smith's assessment, destination in X: โJust remember, the [SEC] "They didn't approve Bitcoin ETFs because they wanted to, they approved them because they had to."
Tyler Winklevoss, however, pointed He notes that the approvals demonstrate โthe unstoppable power of Bitcoin and the establishment's inability to stop it. They tried to fight it for over a decade and finally capitulated. Bitcoin won. โHe broke the establishment.โ
Read more: Bitcoin ETF Exit Gate: A Look At Spot Funds Starting Trading Today
The gravity of the moment did not go unnoticed by another veteran Bitcoiner, Erik Voorhees, who wrote in X that bitcoin is "the first ETF in history in which the underlying asset has limited supply."
Cryptocurrency CEOs also got involved in the conversation. New binance boss Richard Teng saying"Today will be remembered in the history of cryptocurrencies." Kris Marszalek of Crypto.com saying The approvals show that โthe US market is a long-term crypto market.โ Brad Garlinghouse of Ripple wrote"I hope this is another catalyst for institutional investment/adoption."
First day of spot bitcoin ETF trading, brokerage platform Vanguard was found to be blocking the funds.. Multiple crypto drivers took to X saying that they had canceled their accounts on the platform.
โ[G]All my respect to those who leave Vanguard. [U]Unfortunately, there are only about 100 of you and they won't care,โ said a Fireblocks researcher. wrote.
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